IRVINE – UCI officials have rejected the Muslim Student Union’s appeal to lift a suspension following the disruptions made during an Israeli ambassador’s speech earlier this year.
“To our tremendous disappointment, UCI has maintained the suspension off the Muslim Student Union for the fall quarter until Dec. 31, 2010,” said Reem Salahi, the organization’s attorney, Friday.
The suspension, which was originally supposed to be year-long, will be followed by two years of probation. Officials also ordered 100 collective hours of community service, Salahi said.
“This has been a difficult decision,” said UCI Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Manuel Gomez in a statement. “But in the end, this process demonstrates the University of California, Irvine’s commitment to values, principles and tolerance. Although this has been a challenging experience for all involved, I am confident that we will continue to move forward as a stronger, more respectful university community.”
The organization’s leaders will meet monthly with the director for student conduct for one year to discuss the importance and meaning of First Amendment rights and the responsibilities of leadership, among other topics, according to university officials.
In addition, the sanctions are applied to the group as a while and do not address disciplinary processes for those arrested at the event, according to officials.
The suspension was the result of a months-long internal review by the university following the arrest of 11 students during Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren’s speech on campus in February. Oren was repeatedly interrupted by the union members.
The Jewish Federation had obtained documents from the university through the Freedom of Information Act and released information in June about the Muslim union’s suspension. Many local Jewish groups applauded the university’s action citing that the students’ behavior disregarded civil discourse and school policies.
A May 27 letter sent to the Muslim Student Union by Lisa Cornish, senior executive director of Student Housing, details the violations that were believed to have been committed by the union and the disciplinary action taken against them.
Cornish’s letter says the university’s decision to suspend the union was based on Google Group e-mails, personal observations by university officials including the police chief, observations by other students and “the fact that all of the disruptors retained the same attorney to represent them in the student conduct process.”
Cornish’s letter talks about how the Muslim Student Union held a meeting Feb. 3 prior to the ambassador’s visit and methodically discussed how to disrupt the event. The students talked about sending “the speaker a message – our goal should be that he knows that he can’t just go to a campus and say whatever he wants” and “pushing the envelope.”
Cornish’s letter states that the students planned every detail of the disruption including scripting statements. It also ordered the union to cease operations from Sept. 1, a suspension that would be active until Aug. 31, 2011.
Salahi said the Muslim Student Union maintains that it did not sponsor the disruptions – though some group officers and members participated – and that overall members were deemed “guilty by association.”
Muslim advocacy groups said the suspension was severe, draconian and selective. Banning the group would deprive Muslims students from a critical campus resource, they said.
Hadeer Soliman, the Muslim Student Union’s incoming vice president, said members were “shocked and disappointed by the university’s decision against MSU.”
She said Muslim students have endured personal attacks and received hate mail attributed to a rising anti-Muslim sentiment.
Staff Writer Deepa Bharath contributed to this report.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7956 or [email protected]
